Kumarajiva

[Ven. Tantra]

Dear List members:

I connection to a preface to my �rendering� of the
_Diamond Cutter Sutra_, might anyone have any
interesting data on the life of Kumarajiva? �i.e.,
beyond what I have compiled below. Is it the name
alone that makes me think he was �Indian�?

Much obliged,

Ven. Tantra

*Kumarajiva* (CE 344�413). Great Indian (?) Buddhist
scholar and missionary born in Kucha, present day
Xinjiang, China. When his mother, a Kuchean princess,
became a nun, he followed her into monastic life at
the age of seven. He grew up in Buddhist centers. In
383, Chinese forces seized Kucha and took Kumarajiva
to China. From 401 he was at the Ch�in court in the
capital Chang�an (modern Xi�an). He taught and
translated Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. With 500
scholar monks assisting him, he is said to have
translated more than 100 Buddhist works. Twenty-four
are authenticated. These include some of the most
important titles in the Chinese Buddhist canon.






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